Southern Chester County Emergency Medical Services News Articleshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/rss
News articles published on sccems.orgen-usSun, 15 Sep 2019 05:39:20 GMTSCCEMS Publishes Its 2018 Annual ReportDepartment Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=241
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=241EMS Chief Bob HotchkissWed, 31 Jul 2019 11:31:52 ESTSouthern Chester County EMS has published its 2018 Annual Report. Copies of the report may be downloaded below. We would like to again thank the community, our municipalities, SCCEMS Board past and present, dedicated staff paramedics, vendors and our healthcare and public safety partners for their support as we celebrate 35 years of service.
]]>SCCEMS CEO Bob Hotchkiss In Bedford County to Present Best Practices for EMS Services Working With MunicipalitiesDepartment Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=240
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=240SCCEMS NewsTue, 09 Apr 2019 21:20:39 ESTSCCEMS CEO/EMS Chief Bob Hotchkiss was invited to the Southern Alleghenies Regional EMS Council Legislative Breakfast in Bedford on Wednesday to give a presentation to local municipal officials and EMS leaders on the value of municipal funding to support local EMS Operations. Chief Hotchkiss was joined by PEHSC President David Jones and Bureau of EMS Director Dylan Ferguson for the presentation followed by a question and answer period.
SCCEMS is able to provide its life-saving MEDIC 94 services through the financial support subsidies of the 18 municipalities that we serve. This municipal funding partnership is seen as a best practice for other areas in the Commonwealth to support EMS in a climate of increasing operations costs and decreasing reimbursement. Chief Hotchkiss has given this presentation as several EMS Conferences and municipal groups across the Commonwealth.SCCEMS Welcome Dr Josh Simon as New EMS Medical DirectorDepartment Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=238
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=238EMS Chief Bob HotchkissTue, 09 Apr 2019 21:12:12 ESTSCCEMS is proud to announce that Dr. Joshua Simon will be joining the SCCEMS team as the new EMS Medical Director as of 1 April. Dr. Simon attended medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse NY and completed his residency at Temple University School of Medicine. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine. He was previously employed at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Chestnut Hill Hospital and Jennersville Hospital as an emergency department physician. He will also be assuming the role of Director of Emergency Services at Jennersville Hospital in April.

Dr. Simon is a former Emergency Medical Technician and previously served as EMS Medical Director for an EMS service in Bucks County.

Dr. Simon takes over for Dr. Alexander Fernandez who has been the SCCEMS Medical Director for the past 6 years.

]]>SCCEMS Presents Pilot Pre-Hospital Ultrasound Study to CountyDepartment Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=239
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=239EMS Chief Bob HotchkissTue, 09 Apr 2019 21:20:41 ESTSCCEMS Paramedic Sergeant Alex Christ presented a pre-hospital ultrasound pilot project to the Chester County Medical Advisory Committee today. SCCEMS has a reputation for being in the cutting edge of medical technology to benefit our patients. This pilot project in concert with other services in York County PA if accepted by the Stae would give SCCEMS paramedics another tool in the clinical toolbox for state-of-the-art assessment of our patients.
]]>SCCEMS Board of Directors Approved 2019 Operating Budget and New OfficersBoard of Directors Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=237
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=237EMS Chief Bob HotchkissThu, 13 Dec 2018 16:54:48 ESTThe Southern Chester County Board of Directors met on December 3rd and held its annual meeting. The 2019 SCCEMS Board Officers were selected. Chairman Harold Walls, Vice Chair Charles Foy Sr. and Secretary/Treasurer Sharon Ayers will return as officers in 2019. Richard Scott- Harper was elected to the Board of Directors as a community member. The Board also approved the CY 2019 Operating Budget. Copies of that budget are available on the website under governance.
]]>Southern Chester County EMS Receives 2018 CARES AwardDepartment Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=236
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=236EMS Chief Bob HotchkissWed, 17 Oct 2018 10:59:41 ESTSouthern Chester County EMS recently received the 2018 CARES Award for actively participating in the Pennsylvania Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES).Southern Chester County EMS is one of 122 EMS agencies in the Commonwealth recognized during “CARES Recognition Week” in Pennsylvania. On October 10, 2018, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives adopted a resolution designating October 15 through 19, 2018 as CARES Recognition Week to commend the agencies for their efforts to improve the quality of care for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in their communities.Each year, more than 350,000 people in the United States experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) is a national cardiac arrest registry developed to help save lives by providing a tool for communities to measure the effectiveness of their emergency response systems and identify opportunities to improve quality of care.One of 24 statewide registries across the U.S., Pennsylvania CARES helps EMS agencies in the Commonwealth participate in the national CARES registry.Southern Chester County EMS successfully participated in CARES for the 2017 calendar year and is commended for collecting data, in collaboration with and on behalf of BLS, first responder, and community partners, to measure outcomes, improve the quality of care, and save lives. Participation in CARES allows for measurement of both bystander and 911 response, including information about bystander CPR and AED application, telephone CPR, and EMS response times. Using this information, Southern Chester County EMS can discover promising practices and implement new programs to improve emergency care for patients in the community.The agency’s dedication to collecting OHCA data has helped strengthen the collaboration between 911 centers, first responders, EMS agencies and hospitals, with the ultimate goal to improve OHCA survival rates.
]]>SCCEMS MEDIC 94 Celebrates 35 Years of providing Advanced Life Support ServicesDepartment Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=235
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=235EMS Chief Bob HotchkissWed, 17 Oct 2018 10:22:02 ESTOctober 15th marks the 35th anniversary of MEDIC 94 advanced life support services to the southern Chester County community. MEDIC 94(SCCEMS) began as an effort to bring advanced life support services to the southern part of Chester County. By 1983, there were three advanced life support units operating in Chester County. However, each had between a 20 –40 minute response time to life-threatening emergencies in the southern part of the County. Determined to improve the EMS care, a task force was formed to study how to implement these services.

The task force began its work in late 1982. Members of the task force included the Southern Chester County Medical Center as the major hospital in the area, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lancaster due to their existing ALS program and Paramedic Institute, St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington, and representatives from the local volunteer ambulance services in Oxford, West Grove, Avondale, Kennett, and Unionville. With such a dedicated, multi-dimensional group, within a few short months, a proposal was presented and startup preparations began for MEDIC 94 under the corporate name of Southern Chester County ALS (SCCALS).

After almost a year of hard work, MEDIC 94 went into service on October 15th, 1983. Mr. Jim Goss RN served as Coordinator for MEDIC 94 as well as Director of the Emergency Department at SCCMC. Dr. Joeseph Mullen served as EMS Medical Director. MEDIC 94-1 was a paramedic intercept type unit, stationed at the Southern Chester County Medical Center Emergency Department. The unit was equipped to handle advanced cardiac, medical and trauma patients with the most modern equipment.

Now 35 years later, SCCEMS and MEDIC 94 continues to remain a leader in corporate organization and clinical excellence. We have responded to almost 100, 000 emergency dispatches and cared for tens of thousands of patients. Countless lives have been saved through the efforts of our providers. Thank you to the staff past and present, volunteer Board members past and present, local fire, EMS and law enforcement members who are truly part of our care team, our municipalities without whom we could not continue to provide the service and the community who supports us.

October 1983, housing of the first MEDIC 94
]]>Passing of Former SCCEMS Board Chairman Joseph D. GossBoard of Directors Newshttps://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=232
https://www.sccems.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=232EMS Chief Bob HotchkissMon, 11 Jun 2018 10:23:32 ESTIt is with great sadness that we report the passing of Joseph D. Goss. Joe passed away yesterday afternoon at Union Hospital after a long illness. Joe served as the Chairman of the SCCEMS Board of Directors from 1987-1990. Joe was a great supporter of SCCEMS and MEDIC 94 and was instrumental in the development of the organization in its early years as we grew from Southern Chester County Advanced Life Support to Southern Chester County EMS. It was a time for the organization where we expanded our scope of services to meet new community needs beyond the MEDIC 94 services. He was also a life member of the Union of Oxford Fire Company where he served as President.

A memorial service will be held 11 am Saturday, June 9, at the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc., 86 Pine St., Oxford, where family and friends may visit from 9 – 11 am.

Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Union Fire Co., #1, 315 Market St., Oxford, PA 19363.

This year, there were 5 recipients. Carl Black Jr., Ashley Bucher, Nicolette LaRosa, and Kenneth Palmer all attending the Physician Assistant Program at the Drexel University in the Fall. The fifth recipient, Selah Walker will be attending the University of South Alabama Physician Assistant Program in August.

The annual Dr. Gregory DeSimone Memorial Scholarship is presented to a student in an accredited Physician Assistant program. Dr. Gregory DeSimone served as the Jennersville Regional Hospital and Southern Chester County EMS Medical Director from 1990 until his passing in 2013. The Friends of Dr. DeSimone, made up of hospital staff, community members and SCCEMS paramedics organized the 5k race and scholarship in his memory. The scholarship funding was obtained from proceeds from the annual Race Through The Grapes 5K held in 2014-2016.

In the 4 years that the scholarship has been presented, over $30,000 in scholarship monies have been awarded to 9 recipients.